Abu Dhabi circuit sold to government

Yas Island, which includes the Yas Marina circuit, has been sold off by Aldar Properties to the Abu Dhabi government.

Note that this is not just the circuit, but also the other features on the island as well. On Gulf News, Aldar’s chief financial officer Shafqat Malek said:

“This includes roads, utilities on the Yas Island, Yas Marina Circuit which is home to the Formula 1 race track, Yas Marina and the Yas Yacht Club.”

“The sale will improve Aldar’s liquidity position and help the company settle its debts this year of around Dh4.5 billion (about £ 720 million),” said Nabil Farhat, partner with Al Fajer Securities. “They will also have enough cash to complete their projects.”

The Yas Marina project is a $36bn development project by Aldar Properties. 1,700 hectares of the 2,500 have been claimed for development. This development includes a Warner Bros. Movie World (a theme park), Ferrari World (another theme park), the famous Yas Marina hotel, a water park, the Yas Mall, golf courses, lagoon hotels, and much more. And the Formula 1 circuit of course!

It was such a huge project, it was named the World’s leading tourism project at the World Travel Awards in November 2009. However, Aldar Properties has invested far too much into development projects over the United Arab Emirates, around $78bn. Therefore, the property crash in the UAE has prompted them to sell off their assets, to stay afloat. It is unclear whether the Abu Dhabi government will keep the Yas Marina facilities or not, but I’d say they will sell it off in a few years.